Thanking VS. Appreciating
Gregory Warner
We help your supporters self-qualify their interest in giving so your frontline fundraisers spend their valuable time with the right people — when they’re ready to move forward. imarketsmart.com
Mechanized thank you’s.
I’ve been thinking that, perhaps, too many organizations have turned thanking into an automated obligation. They realize it’s something they’re supposed to do. So, they do it as cost-efficiently as possible.
As a result, for many, their thank you’s have become one dimensional and aloof.
That led me to wonder… should we really be thanking donors after all?
What if they don’t want to be thanked?
What if we’ve got this thanking business all wrong?
What if what they really want is simply to be appreciated? Not just thanked.
If that’s the case (and I believe it is), then why are we running in circles trying to thank donors in the way we currently do?
And, if showing appreciation is truly the name of the game, how can we change the way we engage with donors after they’ve donated or volunteered so they get what they want and deserve?… APPRECIATION!
I’ll ponder this some more and try to come up with some tactical ideas.
In the meantime, I’m curious… how do you thank donors and convey appreciation?